


Red Rover, Red Rover

by kiss_me_cassie



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Person of Interest (TV), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bad Guys Turned Good Guys, F/F, Gen, Red Room (Marvel), Shared History, Shared Universe, The Machine - Freeform, Women Being Awesome, partners
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-18
Updated: 2018-03-18
Packaged: 2019-04-03 22:33:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14006262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiss_me_cassie/pseuds/kiss_me_cassie
Summary: "Romanova?""Shaw. How are you?" Natasha asked calmly. They might have been meeting for coffee instead of in the middle of a firefight at least a decade after they'd last seen one another.





	Red Rover, Red Rover

**Author's Note:**

> Much thanks to LitLara for the advice and encouragement, and to Meatball42 for the push to post.

Natasha was holed up behind an abandoned car between two warehouses when someone decidedly _not_ Hydra slipped in next to her. 

She shot the new arrival a quick glance, shock showing on her face for about half a second when she recognized who it was. Then she went back to aiming at the Hydra goons taking cover just inside the warehouse bay doors. 

The newcomer sounded about as shocked Natasha felt when she finally spoke.

" _Romanova_?" 

Natasha shot off another couple of bullets.

"Shaw. How are you?" she asked calmly, smoothing her expression into it's normally composed facade. They might have been meeting for coffee instead of in the middle of a firefight at least a decade after they'd last seen one another.

"Besides getting shot at? Can't really complain," Shaw replied dryly as she stood to aim at one of the guys hiding behind a forklift. She ducked back down again and glanced at Natasha. "Bit of a surprise meeting you here."

Natasha took a moment to shoot at another couple of guys before answering.

"Likewise."

A projectile whizzed by and caught one of the goons coming up on their right in the throat. He went down with a wet gurgle. Shaw looked both wary and awed. 

"What was that? A fucking _arrow_?"

"My partner," Natasha said, not taking her eyes from the next target, who she shot cleanly in the thigh.

Surprised yet again, Shaw took a moment to scan the surrounding buildings and Natasha snorted softly although she never took her eyes of the Hydra goons.

"Don't bother looking. You won't find him."

Shaw shook her head. "How'd you know --"

Natasha shrugged and picked off another guy. "Everyone always looks. No one ever spots him. He's good like that."

"A former Black Widow working with a mysterious archer. And I thought Finch was bonkers," Shaw muttered, shaking her head. She aimed at a guy approaching on the left and managed to nick his hand.

Natasha didn't ask who Finch was, just concentrated on picking off another one of the guys shooting at them. 

Shaw sighed and aimed at another guy to their left, just missing as he ducked behind a cement wall. She darted another glance at Natasha. 

"You ever hear of ISA?" she asked.

Nat paused in shooting at the bad guys for a minute to give Shaw a look. "A little. Friend of mine isn't very fond of their methods. Says they're a little hyper-focused on a 'better world' without much discourse on who their better world benefits. And considering who my friend is, I can't say I'm very impressed."

Shaw nodded and shot at a guy to Natasha's right before he had a chance to shoot at her. "Your friend is pretty smart."

Nastasha laughed. While true, that wasn't one of the things Stark was usually known for. "Something like that." 

She looked out over the hood of the car. A handful of goons were approaching, confidence written all over their smug faces. Sighing, she reloaded and fired off another half round, taking out two while Clint managed to pick off three of the others. 

"So... you working for them? ISA?" she asked Shaw as she ducked back down.

"Not anymore. Found some better friends." Shaw popped out from behind their cover. "Four more coming up on the right."

The conversation lulled as they both concentrated on their adversaries, but picked right back up again as soon as the immediate threat was handled. 

"I'd ask what you've been up to since leaving Mother Russia," Shaw said. "But I watch the news. Your hair's a little too iconic."

Natasha smirked. "Clint doesn't mind."

"Arrow guy?"

She nodded.

"And these guys who are shooting at us?"

Natasha glanced over her shoulder, aiming at one of them who was approaching from behind. Clint managed to get him before her and he fell with a thud, an arrow sticking out of his eye socket.

She chanced a glance at Shaw. "Ever heard of Hydra?"

Shaw nodded, though she never took her eyes off the warehouse to their left and kept on shooting. "Some. Never saw them in action."

"Now you have." Natasha took out a guy coming in fast on their right. "How'd you get on their bad side?"

Shaw shrugged. "The Machine picked a number, turned out to be someone Hydra wants dead. We're trying to keep the guy alive."

Natasha shot her a curious look. "Machine? We?"

"It's a long story," Shaw said with a sigh, hitting another guy in the leg. It didn't take him out completely, but it did take him down for the count.

Out of ammo again, Natasha reached down to grab the gun in her thigh holster. "I'm not going anywhere anytime soon."

Shaw laughed. "It's too long for right now, but if we get out of this mostly alive, I'll buy you a drink and tell you all about it."

"You gonna spring for the good stuff?"

"The finest vodka and whiskey we can find," Shaw agreed, grinning as she aimed at another guy.

Natasha grinned back and took another shot. "Deal."

Another wave of Hydra goons showed up just as a third person dressed in sleek black slid in behind their makeshift shelter, gun at the ready. Natasha whirled around, training her gun on the stranger until Shaw held up a hand, signaling that she was an ally.

"Hello, beautiful," the newcomer said to Shaw as she shot at one guy, getting him in the throat. "Come here often?" 

Shaw rolled her eyes. "Root, you still find the worst moments to flirt."

"You know you love it," she said, smirking and making a little kissy face. She tipped her head towards Natasha. "Who's the babe?"

"Romanova." Shaw popped off another few shots. "She's a friend."

"Didn't know you collected many of those." There was an edge to the new woman's voice and Natasha shot her a curious look.

"Is that a hint of jealousy I hear?" Shaw asked. Root shrugged and Shaw smiled a little. "I knew her from the old days."

Apparently, Root was familiar with what Shaw considered the 'old days', because her only reaction to that little nugget was to send Natasha a probing look before turning back to Shaw. "Can she be trusted?"

"Yeah. She's one of the good guys now."

"What about the archer?" Root asked, her eyes going unerringly to the rooftop where Clint crouched. Natasha was impressed. Not many people ever spotted him.

"He's with me," Natasha warned. "Mess with him, you mess with me."

Root grinned. "Then let's not mess with him."

Natasha decided she liked this woman and grinned back. "Good plan."

Making sure both her firearms were locked and loaded, Root stood, bravely facing their opponents. 

"Ladies? Time to get this party started."


End file.
